dont throw sticks for your dog

[waikikamookau]

they can choke on them,
just in case you didn't know.

and watch out for the size of the balls you throw.

Well we have managed to avoid accidents for the last thirty plus years thousands and thousands of sticks thrown,

I would worry more about a dog not having enough frantic activity, nice and environmentally friendly things sticks,it doesn't matter when they get lost in the river, sea or woods.

I throw sticks into the river for my dog but she tends to be quite rubbish at retrieving them despite being a Labrador. I choose thick chunky ones she can't choke or impale herself on.

I would discourage anyone from throwing sticks for dogs. Yes you may be lucky and have a dog who doesn't get injured but I have seen several dogs die from stick injuries. They often produce very large vet bills. Opening chests to retrieve bits of stick isn't cheap.

I threw a stick for our dog. It stuck in soft ground and she carried on running straight onto it. The stick went through the roof of her mouth and up towards her brain. Fragments also went down into her lungs. It was only down to the skill of our fab vet that she survived. He told us their practice sees a number of dogs with stick injuries every year.

Throw something else, but please dont throw sticks.

My dog nearly died from chewing on a stick she found in the garden. Fragments made their way through her oesophagus, then travelled through her neck creating pockets of infection. She had a huge fur ruff around her neck, so we couldn't see the swelling and by the time she started showing symptoms it was almost too late.

We were lucky, she survived the op, but it could have been very different.

I know of several dogs that died as a result of injuries caused by sticks.

Throwing sticks does seem like the most natural thing in the world to do, but it is dangerous. Far better to take a toy on your walks to throw for your dog instead.

There are plenty of 'safe sticks' on the market these days, hessian/hemp or canvas dummies are a good hardwearing choice and usually loved by dogs and of course there's always frisbees.

Kong do a good replacement Safestix

Don't drive it kills loads of people

and stones on the beach, they are dangerous too.

Do people grow stones for their dogs??

Throw

or pebbles more like.

I learnt this lesson the very hard way. Our lab got a stick stuck in his throat, emergency dash to the vet who put him under and removed it. Seventy pounds later and an overnight stay and he was thankfully fine. He has not learnt his lesson though because the day after he found a stick and run around with it. We are wiser though and I have never much to his disgust thrown a stick for him.